Ikea Issues Repair Kits for 27 Million Dressers After Child Deaths

In the wake of two fatal accidents, Ikea has issued wall-anchoring kits for the 27 million customers who bought chests and dressers that could tip over.

The home decor company is offering the free kits to customers who purchased the MALM model of drawer chests, including the 3- and 4-drawer styles and two types of MALM 6-drawer chests, as well as other chests and dressers, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The affected furniture has been sold since 2002.

The company said consumers should move the furniture away from children until they have properly anchored it to the wall. The company has created a webpage as part of a campaign to raise awareness about tipping furniture and how to avoid it.

The wall-anchoring kits are meant for children’s chests and dressers taller than 23-½ inches and adult chests and dressers taller than 29-½ inches. Each set contains replacement tip-over restraints as well as complete wall anchoring hardware, instructions and warning labels.

The repair comes after two children died last year after being pinned under the furniture that had not been anchored to the wall. This is not uncommon; data from the CPSC reports that “a child dies every two weeks and a child is injured every 24 minutes in the U.S. from furniture or TVs tipping over.”

“We’re deeply saddened by this and hope that our efforts prevent further tragedies,” Patty Lobell, Ikea's U.S. Commercial Manager, said in a statement.